Emptyset - Skin

Emptyset - Skin
Emptyset's waves of sound are so monstrous they could crush you. On their recent album, Borders, they experimented with homemade instrumentation and a more human touch, but the results were no less noisy. They shed digital production on Skin for an acoustic EP that shows how much more ground they have left to explore. There's a clearer and less overwhelming sound to the four tracks, which all consist of the same elements: a custom-made string instrument and a hand drum in the background.

"Skin I" and "Eye I" are the most impressive tracks. The former works itself up into a storm that equals of any of Emptyset's electronic works. The droning minimalism teases out another layer of the group's music beyond its toothy attack. "Skin II" and "Eye II" are slower and more methodical, letting you hear each string ring out while savouring the startling feedback that comes with each stroke. It's a jarring sound that feels wrong. Though focusing on the reverberations of acoustic noises makes Skin their most ambient work, it's still fearsome, showing that the group's style doesn't only come from machines and computers.

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Emptyset is a London/Berlin based production project formed in 2005 by James Ginzburg and Paul Purgas. The project examines the material properties of sound and its correspondence with architecture, performance and physical modes of production.
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